Adolescent reinforcement sensitivity as a longitudinal predictor of psychopathology: Investigating inhibitory control and emotion regulation as underlying mechanisms

Prevention and treatment of mental health problems are considered as two major aims of clinical psychological research. Designing prevention programs requires empirical studies that shed light on the risk factors underlying the development of psychopathology that need to be integrated as intervention targets. The current dissertation focuses on personality traits and emotion regulation (ER) as two key elements of theoretical models explaining the development of anxiety and depression. In the first part of this dissertation, the concepts of ER and reinforcement sensitivity are explained and the aims of the dissertation are further clarified. The first two studies investigate adolescent reinforcement sensitivity as a longitudinal risk factor for psychopathology symptoms. The differentiating effects of punishment and reward sensitivity on various psychopathology symptoms are highlighted. In order to understand the underlying mechanism of this link, the indirect effects of ER (Study 1) and anger rumination (Study 2) on this link are examined. Results show that punishment sensitivity leads to an increased use of maladaptive ER which in turn increases the risk for development of psychopathology. The Study 3 takes one step back to examine inhibitory control as an underlying mechanism of the punishment sensitivity and ER link. The findings provide some support for the hypothesis that punishment sensitivity contributes to the habitual use of maladaptive ER through inducing attentional control deficit. In general, results suggest that punishment sensitivity and maladaptive ER constitute vulnerability for development of mental health problems. Therefore measurement of individual differences in reinforcement sensitivity and targeting ER among those with high levels of punishment sensitivity seems to be a promising pathway for reducing the risk for development of psychopathology. Further, our results suggest that targeting attentional control might have protective effects against the development of maladaptive ER strategies. Finally, the findings are discussed and summarized and the implications and directions for future research are highlighted

Teaching conceptual approaches to interior architecture students by integrating theory and practice

For interior architects, conceptual approach acts as a purpose, and lead to the realization of the final design which requires to be functional yet original and valuable. Existing research has mainly exposed findings related to conceptual approaches in architecture, but it is crucial to consider the conceptual approaches for interior architecture in its own content. Creativity is an important factor for competing in design and education. Current study was developed with concern to the importance of offering a course related to concept development in interior architecture programmes. Integrating theory and practice by offering lectures and exercises about key topics of understanding, communicating and developing concepts were the methods adopted for this course. Results showed that student weaknesses such as communication of ideas with weak presentation skills and an inability to distinguish the main design concept from design ideas was improved towards the end of the semester. The findings of this study contributes to raise awareness about the importance of considering interior architecture concept independently from architecture and transfer this awareness to the level of educational programmes. Moreover, offering theory and practice related to concept development will help interior architecture students gain a higher degree of awareness on creative design development.No sponso

Evaluating the role of pinterest in education and the profession of interior architecture

The number of social media platforms that influence interior architects are increasing and Pinterest is one of these instruments. Parallel to the increased use of Pinterest among designers and students, there is concern about pros and cons of this platform for education and profession of interior architecture. This study aimed to understand if interior architecture instructors, students and professional are engaged with Pinterest and how they evaluate the role of this platform for the profession and education of interior architecture. Accordingly, this study offers a theoretical framework that would underline the opportunities and threats of using Pinterest as a designer. In this scope, data was collected from 225 students, 30 instructors and 50 interior architects. Comparing the findings showed that while most of the students and instructors find Pinterest useful for education of interior architecture, the number of interior architects who believed Pinterest presented disadvantages for the profession of interior architecture were higher that those who found Pinterest useful. Results claim that educating both students and instructors about the dynamic role of the social media in transferring the teaching materials, collaborative learning and efficient academic interaction could enhance the integration of online media development and education. Findings from this study contribute to the existing literature on the role of social media on design-oriented education and professions.No sponso

Muscle synergies and how they contribute to the movement of the tail during the nociceptive withdrawal response in the rat’s tail

Noxious stimuli can evoke the nociceptive withdrawal response (NWR), which protects the affected part of the body from injury. The rat’s tail, because of the large number of joint (n=84) and muscle (n=300) degrees of freedom, may present a computational challenge to the central nervous system. Previous studies have revealed that synergies act to reduce the number of degrees of freedom across diverse movements in a variety of animals; however, there is little information in mammals on synergistic control of the tail. The long-term specific aim of this project is to test the hypothesis that during the NWR muscle synergies controlling rat’s tail reduces the muscular degrees of freedom by recording the electromyograms (EMGs) from intrinsic tail muscles during heat evoked NWRs. Adult, male Sprague Dawley rats were briefly anesthetized with isoflurane. The tail was marked in thirteen equally spaced locations on the dorsal surface of the tail for stimulation and tracking. To record the EMG, 14 fine wires were inserted at seven locations along the length of the tail. Heat stimuli were delivered at 11 locations along the tail to evoke a NWR that was captured by high speed video. Robust single and multi-unit EMG recordings were obtained. The EMG had two components, an early component right after stimulation and a late component. The early component coincided with initial movement of the tail away from the heat stimulus; however, it consistently lagged movement onset by 93 ms. The location of peak EMG closely matched the site of heat stimulation. In order to find possible synergies, principle component analysis revealed that 93% of the movement could be explained by three synergies constructed from seven possible muscle degrees-of-freedom, thus reducing computational complexity from 7 to 3 degrees of freedom. These results demonstrate that intrinsic tail muscles contribute to tail movement, but because of the lag relative to movement they are not sufficient to fully explain the initial movement of the NWR. Further, the results support the use by the central nervous systems of synergies to reduce the substantial computational complexity of tail movement

Alışveriş merkezleri dinlenme alanlarında duyusal uyarılmaya ilişkin kullanıcı tercihleri ve memnuniyetsizlikleri

Studies claim that shopping centers are considered a destination because they offer ambiance, experiences, and entertainment. With the rise in online shopping, shopping centers are no longer anchored by departmental stores but with their commercial facilities. Consistent with this change, more studies are needed to improve the interior quality of side facilities like entertainment and relaxing areas in shopping centers. This study is established to understand the sensory preferences and dislikes of a group of participants in shopping center resting areas. Consistent with this target, 200 participants took part in a questionnaire survey in Antalya, Turkey. The questionnaire consisted of 5 negative and 5 positive sensory qualities of space. These qualities were defined based on the five dimensions of a sensory space as established by Barbara Erwine. Participants were asked to list the negative qualities from most disturbing to least disturbing and then positive qualities from most satisfying to least satisfying. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed using the SPSS computer program. Results showed that smell was rated as the most influential sensory quality that disturbs or satisfies participants in shopping center resting areas. Also, according to participant responses, positive and negative feelings through touching materials and surfaces were the least disturbing/satisfying quality in resting areas. This study also suggests the need for further studies on the role of smell in changing peoples’ behavior in interior spaces and establishing design considerations that can improve the olfactory quality of spaces.Araştırmalar, alışveriş merkezlerinin ortamının, deneyim ve eğlence sundukları için bir zaman geçirme alanı olarak değerlendirildiğini göstermektedir. Online alışverişin artmasıyla alışveriş merkezleri artık çok katlı mağazalara değil, ticari işlevlerle işletilmeye devam etmektedir. Bu değişimle, alışveriş merkezlerindeki eğlence ve dinlenme alanlarda iç mekan kalitesinin iyileştirilmesine yönelik daha fazla araştırılmaya ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, alışveriş merkezi dinlenme alanlarındaki kullanıcıların duyusal memnuniyetleri ve rahatsız edici özelliklerin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu nedenle, Türkiye'nin Antalya İl'inde 200 kişinin katıldığı anket çalışması yapılmıştır. Anket, mekanın 5 olumsuz ve 5 olumlu duyusal özelliğinden oluşmaktadır. Bu nitelikler, Barbara Erwine tarafından oluşturulan duyusal mekanın beş boyutuna dayalı olarak tanımlanmıştır. Katılımcılardan olumsuz nitelikleri en fazla rahatsızlıktan en aza ve olumlu nitelikleri en fazla memnuniyetten en az memnuniyete doğru sıralamaları istendi. Ankette veriler SPSS programı kullanılarak analiz edildi. Sonuçlar, insanların iç mekanlardaki davranışlarını değiştirmede kokunun rolü ve mekanların koku alma kalitesini iyileştirebilecek tasarım değerlendirmelerinin önemini göstermektedir. Ayrıca katılımcı yanıtlarına göre, dinlenme alanlarında en az rahatsız edici/tatmin edici kalitenin malzeme ve yüzeylere dokunma yoluyla oluşan olumlu ve olumsuz duygular olduğu görülmüştür. Bu çalışma aynı zamanda iç mekanlarda insanların davranışlarını değiştirmede kokunun rolü ve mekanların koku alma kalitesini iyileştirebilecek tasarım düşüncelerinin belirlenmesi konusunda daha ileri çalışmalara ihtiyaç olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.No sponso

Experimental and analytical investigation of dynamic characteristics of extension-twist-coupled composite tubular spars

The results from a study aimed at improving the dynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of composite rotor blades through the use of extension-twist coupling are presented. A set of extension-twist-coupled composite spars was manufactured with four plies of graphite-epoxy cloth prepreg. These spars were noncircular in cross-section design and were therefore subject to warping deformations. Three different cross-sectional geometries were developed: D-shape, square, and flattened ellipse. Three spars of each type were fabricated to assess the degree of repeatability in the manufacturing process of extension-twist-coupled structures. Results from free-free vibration tests of the spars were compared with results from normal modes and frequency analyses of companion shell-finite-element models. Five global modes were identified within the frequency range from 0 to 2000 Hz for each spar. The experimental results for only one D-shape spar could be determined, however, and agreed within 13.8 percent of the analytical results. Frequencies corresponding to the five global modes for the three square spars agreed within 9.5, 11.6, and 8.5 percent of the respective analytical results and for the three elliptical spars agreed within 4.9, 7.7, and 9.6 percent of the respective analytical results

Mutual phase locking of a coupled laser diode-Gunn diode pair

Mutual phase locking has been achieved through series connection of a semiconductor laser and a Gunn diode oscillator. Experimental results obtained demonstrate a mutual interaction between the two oscillators which results in a short term Gunn diode oscillator stability and improved spectral purity of its output. We also observe a narrowing of laser pulses and an improvement in regularity